Sodium salicylate (NaSal), a tinnitus inducing agent, can activate serotonergic (5-HTergic) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and can increase serotonin (5-HT) level in the inferior colliculus and the auditory cortex in rodents. To explore the underlying neural mechanisms, we first examined effects of NaSal on neuronal intrinsic properties and the inhibitory synaptic transmissions in DR...

The superficial superior colliculus (sSC) is a key station in the sensory processing related to visual salience. The sSC receives cholinergic projections from the parabigeminal nucleus, and previous studies have revealed the presence of several different nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits in the sSC. In this study, to clarify the role of the cholinergic inputs to the sSC, we exam...

functions. However, the mechanisms of GABAergic neurogenesis in the midbrain are not well understood. Previously, it has been shown that Ascl1 is required for development of GABAergic neurons in the midbrain. Here we have characterized in more detail the role of Ascl1 in the development of distinct subpopulations of midbrain GABAergic neurons. In Ascl1-null mutants GABAergic neurons are complet...

functions. However, the mechanisms of GABAergic neurogenesis in the midbrain are not well understood. Previously, it has been shown that Ascl1 is required for development of GABAergic neurons in the midbrain. Here we have characterized in more detail the role of Ascl1 in the development of distinct subpopulations of midbrain GABAergic neurons. In Ascl1-null mutants GABAergic neurons are complet...

functions. However, the mechanisms of GABAergic neurogenesis in the midbrain are not well understood. Previously, it has been shown that Ascl1 is required for development of GABAergic neurons in the midbrain. Here we have characterized in more detail the role of Ascl1 in the development of distinct subpopulations of midbrain GABAergic neurons. In Ascl1-null mutants GABAergic neurons are complet...

Cerebral ischemia leads to neuronal death for stroke, in which the imbalance between glutamatergic neurons and GABAergic neurons toward neural excitotoxicity is presumably involved. GABAergic neurons are vulnerable to pathological factors and impaired in an early stage of ischemia. The rescue of GABAergic neurons is expected to be the strategy to reserve ischemic neuronal impairment. As protein...

Despite the abundance of studies on γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) ergic neuron distribution in the mouse developing spinal cord, no investigation has been devoted so far to their birthdates. In order to determine the spinal neurogenesis of a specific phenotype, the GABAergic neurons in the spinal cord, we injected bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) at different developmental stages of the glutamic acid deca...

Neuronal cells communicate with each other by producing electrical signals or action potentials (APs). Different ion channels, including Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels, are involved in generation of AP. Once an AP is generated in the soma, it travels down entire the axon length toward its terminal in a self-generating fashion that ultimately conveys information between neurons in the neural circuit....

Hippocampal network activity is predominantly coordinated by γ-amino-butyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons. We have previously hypothesized that the altered excitability of hippocampal neurons in Alzheimer's disease (AD), which manifests as increased in vivo susceptibility to seizures in the TgCRND8 mouse model of AD, may be related to disruption of hippocampal GABAergic neurons. In agreement, our p...

Excitatory and inhibitory neurons have distinct roles in cortical dynamics. Here we present a novel method for identifying inhibitory GABAergic neurons from non-GABAergic neurons, which are mostly excitatory glutamatergic neurons, in primary cortical cultures. This was achieved using an asymmetrically designed micropattern that directs an axonal process to the longest pathway. In the current wo...